


Who's Blaming You?

by JoLau



Category: Sister Claire (Webcomic)
Genre: Apologies, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:27:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26080399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoLau/pseuds/JoLau
Summary: Claire's avoided her for weeks. How does Marie react to a belated apology?
Relationships: Claire & Marie
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Who's Blaming You?

Magpie leads her through the spindly evergreens. Pine duff and twigs snap beneath the weight of their boots- soon they reach the edge of the woods and Magpie offers Claire one more meaningful smile, one last squeeze of her shoulder in his hand, then he's shifting into his feathers. Claire welcomes the weight and press of his talons upon her shoulder. She steps away from the treeline.

Claire sees Marie. Huddled on herself, arms caging her legs. Sunny-blonde hair, limp and glossy, flutters freely in the occasional breeze. Marie looks very, very small. Claire takes a step toward her at Magpie's encouraging chatter. 

Marie's head turns. Claire sees the dull gleam of a single blue eye and the sidelong glance meets with her gaze. Her guts are gripped by an icy, heavy hand and the motion of her legs stalls. Claire becomes still under Marie's stare, the faint acerbic glint that is so strange- _terrifying-_ to see in eyes usually so gentle. Marie looks away, and Claire releases a breath she wasn't aware had become trapped in her chest. Magpie gives one of her loose curls a quick tug before he's winging away.

_Reach out to her, fidget._

Claire takes another deep breath, releasing it slowly. She's scared. What if it's too late and Marie- no, no. This isn't about her, this is about Marie, and if Marie's mad… well, like Magpie said, Claire's been avoiding her for weeks. Marie has a right to be upset with her. That in mind, Claire forces herself to walk forward through the paralytic effects of her anxiety.

Marie doesn't look at her again, but her head tilts a little when Claire's standing closer. Claire swallows quietly. "Is- may I sit here?" 

"...yeah, sure." Marie replies. She shifts away, just a little, but it's enough to wind Claire's throat tight. 

_It's not about you right now. It's about Marie. She has a right to feel upset._

Claire sits with her legs folded beneath her, hands clasped in her lap, staring down at them. What to say? The silence is tense, grating on her bones, prickling the nape of her neck. She picks at a cuticle absently, jumping when Marie speaks.

"Been a while, huh." Marie's voice is light as she says it; normally her tone would carry a breezy bit of laughter, but as of now it's flat. Direct. Claire wants to flinch away from its subtle bitterness. 

But she doesn't. "Yeah, it has." Claire turns her face to look at Marie's profile. She's beautiful in a heartbreaking way, all perfect angles resting over the sharp line of her narrow jaw, doe-like eyes glassy and red. There are bruisy-dark circles beneath her eyes. Her cheeks and nose are rosy for the worst reasons. Marie doesn't look at her, but Claire knows she's listening. "I'm sorry. I haven't… I haven't been a very good friend. I left you alone when you r-really needed someone. That. That wasn't fair. At all. S-so if you're angry with me, I uh-understand." Her heart's beating too fast to continue talking. Even with so much she still wants to say, Claire stops to breathe, to calm her thundering pulse, and give Marie a chance to respond. If she wants. 

It's quiet for a bit. Then Marie exhales harshly through her nose, arms dropping from her legs. She sits criss-cross and puts her hands in her lap, posture dejected. Marie turns her head, looks at Claire. "...I can't lie. I _am_ feeling pretty frustrated for a bunch of reasons, and one of those is you." Claire dips her chin, nods, shame keeping her head bowed. Part of Marie thrills at the reaction: she _should_ be ashamed! She left her to hurt for- for _way_ too long, too suddenly, after months of slowly getting closer and closer and closer. Marie was doing great until that stupid botched rescue. Then the rug was yanked from under her, and her preferred source of happiness and safety and support was giving her the cold shoulder. Marie, ever curious despite her bitterness, asks: "why were you avoiding me?"

Marie's watching her intensely and Claire's face reddens unpleasantly. "I… I was afraid." She feels silly as soon as the words leave her mouth. Marie's _never_ been the type to vent violently. Claire _knows_ that. But- "of what you might d-do or say. I shouldn't have been, but I was, and I let t-that fear control me. I'm sorry." 

Marie stares as though Claire's grown another head, horns included. "You're _scared_ of me?" Her eyebrows scrunch up and together, expression shocked and hurt. 

This isn't about Claire. So she makes a mental note to maybe broach the topic of her irrational fear later, saying: "No, I'm not scared of you," softly, continuing with, "I was afraid of what-ifs. Things that _could_ have happened. I was scared that you'd hate me for Rosalie's accident. So I just… ran from any potential outcome." 

Marie's face relaxes marginally. "Kind of hard to hate someone when what happened wasn't even _relatively_ her fault," Marie murmurs. "I don't even know if there's any _one_ person to blame. There's a lot of partials and indirects to throw around, sure, but your name isn't even on that list." Claire looks at her and Marie says, "for the record, I _am_ upset with you. But I don't hate you. Dunno if that second one is even _possible_ , to be honest." 

Claire's shoulders feel pounds lighter though there's still a clump of cold near her heart, and she chances the tiniest of smiles in Marie's direction. Marie's face doesn't light up very much as the gesture's returned, but the lines of worry and confusion dissipate. Her small hand fills the space between them, and at Marie's faint nod, Claire scoots over until their shoulders are barely apart. "I'm here, if you want me to be." Claire puts her hand palm up on the leg closest to Marie- an olive branch. 

Marie takes the offering of Claire's hand, threading long fingers between short ones, her forearm tucked snug against Claire's beneath the other girl's elbow. "Better late than never," Marie murmurs and lets her head tip towards Claire's, soaking in the closeness she'd been needing for too long. 

**Author's Note:**

> no sad ending because i am the babiest baby. thanks for reading!


End file.
